Why on EARTH would anyone buy this? Granted, I’m a huge WinMo guy but if Microsoft came out with something like this I’d slam them too…. oh wait, UMPC? :-O
Clinton I totally agree with you. I had a Velo 1, a Jornada 680 and still own a MobilePro 780, and am still disappointed that the H/PCs didn’t do better. All I’m saying is that for all the hype, it’s NOT an earth shattering concept. The only thing new and different is that it’s a smartphone companion and not a PC companion. It looks like a H/PC to me.
Ah, okay… thanks for the explanation. The beauty of typed text - sometimes I miss the real meaning of posts. :-S
The problem the H/PC had was that Microsoft could never figue out what they wanted to do with it beyond the enterprise customer. If they had marketed it to the consumer it would have been far more successful. But alas the PocketPC was coming about in the late 90s and that is where the marketing dollars went.
I’ve been wanting an instant-on clamshell net device for some time, and this could be it. Certainly the concept isn’t new: even the “Handheld PC” built on predecessors like the HP95LX, Sharp Wizards, and Psion organizers. In fact, this reminds me most of the Psion Netbook. But all those devices were from the days of dial-up; now we have broadband and wi-fi. I’m glad some manufacturer is revisiting this abandoned catagory.
This thing is another device I can’t really figure out what could be it’s real use. If it’s just for having larger display and keyboard for your mobile phone to do more comfortable browsing and mail, then the $500 is too much.
Also I don’t see who would really want/need this - people with the need to have bigger display/keyboard for their work allready carry notebooks that can do much more…
I find this device closer to what I need when I am on the go. I have a laptop but it definitely doesnt have a comparable battery life, and if it got lost/stolen/dropped/busted/ran over etc. I would be totally screwed. I would buy this.
May 30th, 2007 at 2:16 pm
$499!?!?!!?! :-O
For that price, I’ll take this.
Why on EARTH would anyone buy this? Granted, I’m a huge WinMo guy but if Microsoft came out with something like this I’d slam them too…. oh wait, UMPC? :-O
May 30th, 2007 at 2:33 pm
Microsoft DID come out with something like this in 1997. It was called the Handheld PC.
Any buzz you hear is Palm stock being sold as fast as possible.
(And I keep seeing websites calling it the “Folio”. It should be spelled Foleo - rhymes with Treo)
May 30th, 2007 at 2:35 pm
JamesM - great catch; I have corrected that in the title.
May 30th, 2007 at 2:45 pm
JamesM,
Easy now buddy…
http://www.hpcfactor.com (my other site)
The H/PC was far and away more functional for its time than this is ever going to be…
May 30th, 2007 at 2:58 pm
Clinton I totally agree with you. I had a Velo 1, a Jornada 680 and still own a MobilePro 780, and am still disappointed that the H/PCs didn’t do better. All I’m saying is that for all the hype, it’s NOT an earth shattering concept. The only thing new and different is that it’s a smartphone companion and not a PC companion. It looks like a H/PC to me.
May 30th, 2007 at 3:11 pm
Ah, okay… thanks for the explanation. The beauty of typed text - sometimes I miss the real meaning of posts. :-S
The problem the H/PC had was that Microsoft could never figue out what they wanted to do with it beyond the enterprise customer. If they had marketed it to the consumer it would have been far more successful. But alas the PocketPC was coming about in the late 90s and that is where the marketing dollars went.
May 30th, 2007 at 3:15 pm
You might take a look at Jason Dunn’s take on it:
http://www.pocketpcthoughts.co.....3bd5488a07
May 30th, 2007 at 8:01 pm
Definitely looks like a Latitude X1 ripoff with less features (but admittedly a much smaller pricetag)?
Get some linux hackers onto this and it could be a great device
May 30th, 2007 at 9:26 pm
I’ve been wanting an instant-on clamshell net device for some time, and this could be it. Certainly the concept isn’t new: even the “Handheld PC” built on predecessors like the HP95LX, Sharp Wizards, and Psion organizers. In fact, this reminds me most of the Psion Netbook. But all those devices were from the days of dial-up; now we have broadband and wi-fi. I’m glad some manufacturer is revisiting this abandoned catagory.
May 30th, 2007 at 10:35 pm
This thing is another device I can’t really figure out what could be it’s real use. If it’s just for having larger display and keyboard for your mobile phone to do more comfortable browsing and mail, then the $500 is too much.
Also I don’t see who would really want/need this - people with the need to have bigger display/keyboard for their work allready carry notebooks that can do much more…
May 31st, 2007 at 6:09 am
I find this device closer to what I need when I am on the go. I have a laptop but it definitely doesnt have a comparable battery life, and if it got lost/stolen/dropped/busted/ran over etc. I would be totally screwed. I would buy this.